Michel Aoun

Michel Aoun (18 February 1938-) was Prime Minister of Lebanon from 22 September 1988 to 13 October 1990 (also serving as acting President), succeeding and preceding Selim Hoss.

Biography
Michel Aoun was born on 18 February 1938 in Rabieh, Lebanon. He joined the Lebanese Army in 1958, and he commanded the Christian Lebanese 8th Mechanized Infantry Battalion during the Lebanese Civil War, fighting Muslim, Druze, and Palestinian forces at Souq el-Gharb. On 22 September 1988, President Amine Gemayel appointed him Prime Minister of Lebanon after replacing the civilian Prime Minister Selim Hoss. This betrayed the 1943 Lebanese National Pact, which ensured that the President would be Christian and the Prime Minister would be a Christian. He allied his Free Patriotic Movement with the Lebanese Forces and other Christian forces, and he accepted arms supplies from Saddam Hussein and Ba'athist Iraq during his struggle against the United States-backed Syria (the USA gave its support to Syria in exchange for support in the Gulf War). In 1990, he was ordered by newly-elected President Elias Hrawi to leave the Presidential Palace and step down, but Aoun rejected his dismissal. On 13 October 1990, Syrian Arab Army troops attacked the Baabda presidential palace, and Aoun was assisted by France in escaping. In 2005, he returned to Lebanon 11 days after Syria withdrew from Lebanon, and in 2006 he signed a memorandum of understanding with Hezbollah and visited Syria in 2009.